


i see you

by cubedcoffeecake



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren (Comics)
Genre: Adventure, First Kiss, M/M, Pre-Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:01:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23133595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cubedcoffeecake/pseuds/cubedcoffeecake
Summary: Ben sighed loudly, making sure everyone was aware of his displeasure. The only padawan who acknowledged it was Tai, who looked back with a genuinely concerned expression. Ben blushed and looked down at his feet.
Relationships: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren/Tai
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10





	i see you

Ben didn't understand why any of this was necessary. They had the  _ Force _ . Why was Master Skywalker making them carry heavy packs full of camping supplies on their backs? He could have carried enough bags for the whole Temple with the Force and not waste half as much energy.

Alas, Ben was only sixteen and no one fucking listened to him. So here he was, dragging his feet at the back of the group of nine padawans following Master Skywalker like ducklings along a path into the woods.

Ben sighed loudly, making sure everyone was aware of his displeasure. The only padawan who acknowledged it was Tai, who looked back with a genuinely concerned expression. Ben blushed and looked down at his feet.

The only other padawans who had been at the Temple for close to as long as Ben were Voe, Hennix, and Tai. Voe was a bitch and Ben hated her. Hennix had no ambition and was boring. Tai, though… Tai was nice, and paid attention when Ben talked, and would bring back his favorite snacks when Ben was refused mission privileges because of a tantrum. And, most of all, Tai was really, really pretty.

"All right!" Master Skywalker announced. He sounded so childishly excited Ben rolled his eyes, keeping his gaze fixed on his toes.

"I'm going to take the younger students with me! I want Voe and Hennix to pair up, and Tai and Ben. Everyone else, your goal is to find enough fireberries to make paint out of it, and then navigate back to the Temple. Voe and Hennix, Tai and Ben, you are going to look for an old communications tower I know is around here somewhere. It should have some star charts stored in its databases. Retrieve them and go back to the Temple." He clapped his hands together. "Does anyone have any questions?"

"No, Master Skywalker," they chorused. He smiled.

"Then let's get going!"

The newer students all gaggled together and went off to the right. Hennix launched into an explanation of what he knew about the terrain and where the best building sites might be as he followed Voe into the woods to their left. Master Skywalker led the youngest padawans onward along the same path. Soon, Ben and Tai stood alone.

"So, where do you want to start?" Tai asked considerately, turning to face Ben. He shrugged.

"We can probably sense it in the Force if we try hard enough." Tai's eyes brightened and he grinned. Ben felt butterflies swoop in his stomach.

"I'm pretty good at that, actually!" His smile dimmed slightly. "This is a big forest, though. I may need to be close to it to sense it. I'm not as strong as you or Voe."

"You don't have to be," Ben muttered, barely holding back the  _ I know you're good at sensing things in the Force and I think it's really cool _ .

"Oh yeah, of course, you're right," Tai said quickly, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "We can do some kind of sweep. That's probably what Voe and Hennix are doing, too. It should only take us a couple nights at most."

"I really don't want to haul this pack around for a couple days," Ben replied with a grimace. "I have an idea, though. I know sensing stuff in the Force is a really delicate art so this might not work, but… do you think I could kinda boost your search? Like, back you with some of my strength, so you can reach out further?"

Tai looked startled. Ben thought he was blushing a little, too, but that was probably just wishful thinking.

"I don't… know? We can try, though."

"Okay, cool." They both stood there for a moment, holding their breaths and waiting for the other to do something.

"How. Um. How do we do that?" An idea popped into Ben's head. It was stupid, and impulsive, and everything his family constantly told him he needed to work on doing less. Of course it came out of his mouth the next instant.

"I could hold your hand." Both boys' eyes widened in surprise.

"What?"

"To, uh, allow for a sturdy connection?"

"Oh. Okay. I mean, uh, yeah. Sure."

"Really?" Ben hoped he didn't sound as surprised as he felt.

"Yeah." Tai held out his hand. His arm was stiff, but his eyes softened and a little smile crept up at the corners of his lips. Ben had to drag his eyes away.

"Okay."

He walked closer, reached out, and took Tai's hand. His skin was cold and a bit dry, and Ben thought it was the most wonderful sensation he'd ever felt. Feeling a bit drunk, he laced their fingers before quickly glancing up at Tai's face to gauge his reaction. To his embarrassment, Tai was already looking at his face, and he glanced back down as soon as their eyes met.

"Okay. So. Here goes," Ben stuttered, closing his eyes and trying to focus. He breathed deeply and let the Force calm him, soothe him, and flow through him. He gently nudged it toward where he held Tai's hand, and encouraged it as it began to flow through Tai as well.

They both gasped, the sensation far more than either of them had expected. It was overwhelming. Consuming. Ben felt the way Tai gently shaped the Force as if he were kneading Ben's soul.

[Tai felt like he was drowning, Ben's power pressing in on him comfortingly from every side. He never wanted it to stop.]

Forcing his eyes open took every ounce of strength his smitten mind could manage. All he wanted was to let Tai press and prod at him and mold Ben however he wanted—but they had to find that communications tower. Like  _ hell _ were Voe and Hennix finding it first.

Tai laughed, soft and lovely. Ben drank in the sound.

"We'll find it, Ben. Don't worry," he said. "Here, I think I've got it. Can you feel…?"

"No," Ben replied honestly. It was kinda cool that Tai could tell what Ben was thinking, but that ability only went the one way.

"Okay. Do you want me to just lead us?" he asked unsurely.

"That sounds good to me," Ben agreed. He squeezed Tai's hand. Tai squeezed his back, and Ben felt giddy.

"All right. It's this way."

They walked in silence for about an hour, slowly making their way back toward the Temple. Tai turned them to the right and they skirted around it before heading out into the dense trees again. Despite knowing these woods were perfectly safe, he wished some kind of monster would leap out at them so he could defeat it and impress Tai. He felt particularly useless right now.

"We're almost there," Tai commented out of the blue. Almost as if he knew Ben needed to be pulled out of his head. Maybe he did?

Just as Ben opened his mouth to ask, the treeline stopped and an old structure came into view in front of them. It sat at the edge of an idyllic river, flora creeping over every surface and smooth grey stones settled about.

"You found it!" Ben exclaimed in delight, tugging on Tai's hand as he ran to the riverbank. He wiggled his toes in the mud and turned toward Tai to grin at him. Voe was going to be  _ furious _ . Ben couldn't wait to see it.

"We found it," Tai corrected with a small grin, ducking his chin and looking out over the water. The afternoon light made Tai's face glow as beautifully as the scenery behind him, and Ben was enraptured. He couldn't be blamed for what he did next.

With a grace he rarely possessed, Ben took one small step forward as he gently pulled Tai's hand toward him. Tai looked at him, startled, and Ben pressed their lips together.

Tai gasped and Ben squeezed his eyes shut, praying he had not just fucked everything up. But no—Tai was relaxing. He practically melted into Ben, stepping closer so he could drape himself across Ben's chest and dodge his nose as he pressed their lips more firmly together. Ben wrapped his arms around Tai's waist to hold him closer, and they stayed like that until their lungs were burning for air.

Ben leaned back first and began to gasp embarrassingly, spots dancing in his vision. Tai was nearly as out of breath, but began to laugh breathlessly anyway. Ben joined him, and they stayed like that, clinging to each other and laughing.

Eventually Tai laid his head on Ben's shoulder and began to sway them softly side to side. Ben placed his chin on top of Tai's head.

"Are we dancing?" he whispered. Tai hummed.

"Listen to the trees," he whispered back.

It took Ben a minute, but he could hear the faintest hint of a beat in the rustling of the trees. He smiled dopily. It was amazing that Tai noticed that. Though, honestly, Tai was just amazing in general.

"You think so highly of me," Tai whispered. He sounded a bit awed.

"What?"

"You think a lot of me. I can tell. I'm… glad. I think highly of you, too."

Ben swallowed thickly, a lump jumping to his throat. He squeezed Tai closer.

\--

While Master Skywalker expressed disappointment that they had finished their assignment so quickly they'd entirely skipped over learning what he wanted them to about wilderness survival, the affronted jealousy in Voe's expression at their success was something Ben would treasure for the rest of his life.

Even still, it couldn't come close to matching the excitement Ben felt every time he stole a glance at Tai and knew he would get to look at—to  _ touch _ , even—his expression every day for the rest of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh Ben, you poor thing. One kiss and you're thinking of forever. *sigh* I will leave it up to individual interpretation whether this is set in canonverse or not. How sad would you like to be? (:
> 
> My writing commissions are open rn! You can get more info on my Twitter (cubedcoffeecake) or go straight to my Ko-Fi (cubedcoffeecake). The short of it is if you'd like to donate me a coffee or two and comment an AU and pairing (Kylux, Benarmie, renben, bentai, gen), I'll write you 500-3500 words for it. (:
> 
> Thanks for reading!! I think this is the best written thing I've posted lately. I hope y'all like it too! <3


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